Three car brands that are getting Twitter right

BE takes a look at some of the interesting Twitter campaigns by carmakersDelshad Irani | ETBrandEquity | February 11, 2016, 08:05 IST

Picture source: ThinkStock“Shiny cars do well on Twitter,” says Taranjeet Singh, business head, Twitter India. Cars get people excited, even those of us not familiar with the ins and outs of a combustion engine. So, auto brands are using the micro-blogging platform like never before. From launching cars on Twitter to setting up the first tweet-cam in Asia. “Brands use Twitter to amplify their messages,” says Singh, “But they’re all here because the audience auto brands are trying to reach are on Twitter. Brands are working on building live connections in real time.”

However, before car makers jump on the bandwagon, Singh recommends they tick the boxes on this two-point check list. 1) Understand the audience: The message is not the objective. This is not a one-time exercise, a tactical play. The audience flocks to social media platforms like Twitter every day. So, brands must be “always-on”, create spikes during launches and events like the Auto Expo but maintain conversation throughout the year. It’s not about creating buzz. Sustain engagement. 2) There are almost one billion tweets on the platform every day. That’s a lot of chatter. So, listen. To conversations because that gives marketers an idea of what people are really thinking and what they care about. Once marketers have that down, they’re ready to jump into the ever-flowing timeline.

Here are some brands that are getting Twitter right:

Audi: Audi is the first brand to leverage a TV x Twitter campaign in India, a first in the region as well. Three important Twitter elements merged to make it a success; influencer led marketing, always-on conversations and media integration. Started in December 2015, the campaign themed #GreatnessStarts was for the launch of Audi’s flagship Q7. Audi engaged influencers like Ravi Shashtri and Virat Kohli to spark conversations and asked people to tweet with its hashtag. Then Audi integrated live tweets into the launch ad which aired on the telly. The video tweets had a view rate as high as 20%, which is way above the average engagement rate for social activations.

BMW: In February 2015, BMW India became the first brand to use Twitter’s ‘Flock to Unlock’ Card for the i8 video launch in the country. ‘Flock to Unlock’ is a custom Twitter card brands use to add a dash of mystery and fun to an otherwise regular product, video or commercial launch. People have to flock like bees to the content for it to unlock. Once unlocked, a special tweet goes out to all who participated. The benefit: exclusive content. And in some cases bragging rights.

Jaguar Land Rover: The Tata-owned car brand was launched on Twitter’s live-video streaming platform, Periscope. It was a first.

And here’s what some car makers did to engage users during Auto Expo 2016;

@JLRIndia (Jaguar Land Rover IN) live broadcast of the launch of #JaguarXE via @Periscopeco + AutoReminder

@AudiIn (Audi India): Audi India used Flock to Unlock card during the AutoExpo 2016 to unveil the fastest Audi in India.

@MercedesBenzInd #TweetToClick - #TweetCam: Mercedes Benz India gave users an opportunity to get a visual tour and personalized picture of the Mercedes-Benz Pavilion live from the AutoExpo when they used #TweetToClick and #BestKeepWinning.